


Merry Thieves

by ohlovelyx



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Last Hours Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/M, Hogwarts, jordelia will be endgame though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:49:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27362269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohlovelyx/pseuds/ohlovelyx
Summary: James Herondale from the moment he had been sorted into Gryffindor had crushed on Grace Blackthorn. Grace Blackthorn, a Slytherin adopted into pureblood family, had always known she wanted to marry James Herondale.Even when she transferred to the French wizarding school.Only now, she is back for seventh year.James had always loved her, and Cordelia Carstairs had always loved him. Everyone but the boy in question knew that. Cordelia had accepted that her love would be unrequited.The issue in all of this was that there was a war brewing outside of the walls of Hogwarts. A war that James and all of his friends felt they needed to be apart of. They may yet get that chance because the war was coming inside, and secrets will be unveiled. Hearts will be tested, and ultimately broken. The light in darkness will be the hardest to find, and their biggest priority will be each other.
Relationships: Alastair Carstairs/Thomas Lightwood, Cordelia Carstairs/James Herondale, Cordelia Carstairs/Matthew Fairchild, Jesse Blackthorn/Lucie Herondale
Comments: 3
Kudos: 60





	1. The Potion of Nothingness

**Author's Note:**

> I do not know everything that exists in the HPU so I'm just going to let you know, not everything will be entirely accurate.

Cordelia remembered the moment she had been sorted, as she was sure most people had. The hat hadn't needed more than a second to scream "GRYFFINDOR." She had jumped at the loudness of it, and then the Gryffindor tables had descended into hoots and clapping. The first person she had looked to had been Lucie, her best friend. Lucie looked nervous but excited for her, and then Cordelia's eyes swayed the table as she walked down the steps.

She'd found Lucie's brother, James, easy enough. She considered sitting with him, but he wasn't looking at her. He was looking at the Slytherin tables. It was only with his best friend, Matthew's prodding that she sat with them. She had looked for what James had been looking at, and saw a pretty blonde girl with gentle features. 

Her thoughts of hurt or insecurity had been chased away by Lucie's sorting into Gryffindor as well. Just as Lucie had always chased away the thoughts.

Cordelia thought that if the sinking feeling in her stomach the first time she caught James staring at Grace Blackthorn had been bad, this was a thousand times worse. They had just made it back for their sixth and seventh years. James and a Hufflepuff girl were heads, Cordelia was quidditch captain, and she'd been set on this year being the year that James stopped seeing her as a second sister. Cordelia felt like she was on top of the world. The sorting was fine, and they all felt better for being back. 

The boys had even planned a party in the common room, limited to fifth years and up. James had snuck in them to see the head's quarters for a moment before the party. He only trusted Lucie, Matthew, and Cordelia with the password though. And Cordelia felt important enough, like she might have a chance. She'd felt so nervous about getting the chance to talk to him or admit her feelings, that she'd spent most of her time looking for something to drink. It was only when she found it, that Lucie had found her. Cordelia could read her face perhaps better than anyone else, so she immediately began looking for James as if something bad had happened.

Lucie knew about her plans, and had been the main motivator behind it. "Is he not coming or something?" Cordelia asked, and just then she'd seen it. Grace was there. She'd transferred in third year, and now she was there. Looking as gorgeous as ever, and holding James's wrist where he still wore the bracelet she'd gifted to him as a goodbye. She was smiling at him in disbelief, and he was drinking in her features. 

Suddenly, her nausea did not stem from nervousness. Everything slowed even as the other boys set off the canons of confetti. It painted the picture of the reunited couple very well, and Cordelia met Matthew's eyes. He'd known too. She'd never told him directly, but she knew that he knew. She knew in that moment he could read the devastation on her face, and the source of it.

Like a kaleidoscope, she saw her hopes for this year, and then she watched them decay. She couldn't bear it. Cordelia felt ridiculous for running but she ran out of the entrance and down a couple of halls before she felt it safe from prying eyes. "Is it Herondale again?" A voice called out from the end of the hall. It was her brother, Alastair. He must be coming to the party, though Cordelia wondered why. He had never accepted her invites before. It would be her luck that she'd give more reason for her brother to dislike James.

They had a small sort of rivalry for a few years, and now it was gone but the tension stayed. 

Alastair said "What did he do?" 

"What he's done from the first day he came here," Cordelia laughed and wiped the tear that betrayed her by falling. "It was my fault. Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa." Cordelia noticed how antsy he was, and said "Just go see whoever you want to see. As long as it's not James at least." 

Alastair stepped closer and said "I'll come back. I'll be right back." Cordelia nodded, and she knew that if he didn't, she would be okay. He went in the direction of the common room. 

Cordelia had been sitting there for a few minutes when she heard footsteps. She'd prepared to run back to the common room as quietly as possible on the chance of it being a professor, and they said "Wait." Cordelia turned, coming face to face with the new potions professor, Professor Blackthorn. It was a woman, Grace Blackthorn's adoptive mother.

Cordelia was coming up with excuses already to not get detention when the woman said "You were crying." 

Cordelia looked down, and said "Yes, Professor."

"Why?" Professor Blackthorn asked.

She gave a vague while all too revealing answer of "Unrequited love." 

The woman clicked her tongue. "A horrible thing," She agreed. "I once loved a boy, and the cruel thing broke my heart in front of every one during one of Professor Slughorn's meetings." Professor Blackthorn laughed and said "Now people say he's a kinder man, I don't really believe it though." 

"Why?" Cordelia found herself asking. James could humiliate her, and she still think she would love him.

"Because he took everything away from me. He took my father, and my brothers away from me too," Professor Blackthorn took a step closer. "A part of me still loved and wondered, but I got rid of it. The pain was just too great."

Cordelia straightened. "You stopped loving him? How?"

The woman smiled and said "Why, with a potion of course."

"Were there any side effects?" Cordelia asked. "Any repercussions?" Loving James had been her curse, and if she could be rid of it she would.

"Only a void where the love would be. It could be replaced with the love of another quite easily. Honestly though, I should not be telling you this, the potion is far out of your brewing capabilities as a sixth year." She made a face as if in thought. "I might have some left in my kit, you see I made it recently for a friend. You could come with me to retrieve it, if you wish."

Cordelia paused. Perhaps this wasn't the best idea, and it would change her friendship with James too much.

"Daisy!" The man in question whisper-yelled in search of her. He just made it in the corridor, and her heart squeezed unbearably.

"Herondale! What are you doing out of your quarters at a time like this? I was not aware it was your night to patrol." Professor Blackthorn reprimanded him. "Maybe I should give you detention for not being where you should be." 

James gestured to Cordelia, and said "I was just looking for Cordelia. She was going to miss--my sister. Yep. My sister misses her."

Cordelia let out a breath and laughed, "James, she can wait for a minute right? Professor Blackthorn was going to give me a few books to read for potions. Ya know, I wanna be head girl next year, gotta study hard, right?" She gave a nervous chuckle, and Professor Blackthorn nodded. 

"Move along, Herondale. I'll bring back Cordelia soon." James eyed the pair warily, and only left when Cordelia nodded at him as well.

~ 

Cordelia stared at the liquid within the small vial. It smelled sweet, like what she imagined brewed warmth would be like, though it was clear. "If I drink this, I won't be in love with this boy anymore?" She asked for clarification one more time from the professor.

"You will not be in love with James Herondale if you drink that, yes." Cordelia's head rose quickly, and the woman said "It's obvious, seemingly to everyone but him. Honestly, if I were you, I'd be embarrassed." 

That sentence alone should have set off alarms in Cordelia's head about this situation but it only fueled her heartbreak. So she tossed the potion back in one swallow, and pressure fell over her ears. The pressure dove into her head and heart and devoured all the light and pain. Her black eyes lightened to a dark gray, and lost all shine.

"What do you feel?" Professor Blackthorn asked.

Cordelia met the woman's gaze and said "I feel nothing."

"Good."


	2. Regrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cordelia deals with repercussions of her choices.

When Cordelia made it back to the party, it was finally getting into full swing. Most of the crowd were in the middle of the room, surrounding their new head boy and cheering for his appointment. He was taller than most of them, so he stood out. His hair fell in soft curls in the boyish way they always did. He was smiling, and Cordelia might have thought he looked like he was on top of the world. He probably was considering he was head boy and the love of his life finally came back to him. His friends were by his side, and really there was no reason to take away from this one moment in time. Not to him, at least. Lucie was on the other side of the room, and was starting to make her way to Cordelia's side when Matthew beat her to it. 

"Hey," He nudged her left side, and she forced a small smile on her face. "Are you okay?" He asked. Matthew was wearing that mask he always did when talking to Cordelia about her unrequited crush, that light smile mingled with the pity in his eyes. It bothered her more than she cared to admit, especially now that that love was gone. 

Cordelia met his eyes and said "I'm fine." 

And she was. When she first saw the way everyone surrounded James, and the smile he wore as he looked around, she had felt nothing. No heartache, no warmth, nothing. It was as if she was staring at a paragraph in another language. She could see the pretty lines and the patterns of the language but it meant nothing to her. "Are you sure?" Matthew asked again, and just to be sure she looked at James again. He was looking at her like he was relieved she was back, and his attention was tugged away as Grace Blackthorn pulled him into a fierce kiss. Her hands were latched onto both sides of his face, and his eyes closed on instinct. The crowd cheered for the couple, and James' hand reached up to hold the back of Grace's head.

Lucie pushed herself into Cordelia's eye sight, and Cordelia laughed genuinely. The image of them had been so passionate and full of love, and all she felt was relieved that she wasn't hurt by it. So she laid a hand on Lucie's shoulder in glee and said "I'm great!" Lucie's eyes widened in shock and she brought her hand up to Cordelia's forehead as if to check her temperature. 

"Did you give her something?" Lucie asked Matthew and wrapped her arms around Cordelia in mock protection. Matthew had once gotten them to try this substance that still to this day he refused to tell them what was, and it ended with Cordelia, Lucie, James, and Matthew going swimming. It did not end well. 

Cordelia pulled away, and said "He didn't give me anything, but come on it's a celebration! Let's celebrate. Where are the drinks?"

~

Cordelia would come to regret those words, and the drinks, and kissing a Hufflepuff seventh year. Really, she regretted everything. Especially when in the great hall the next morning. The Gryffindors seemed to remember what she had done, and the Hufflepuff boy even more so. The entire time in the great hall, he stared at her longingly. As if he could get her to go out with him by pure will alone. 

"Oh and he's back at it again," Matthew joked through a bite of some bread. "How are his eyes not dry yet, I wonder?" James elbowed him in the side. "What? Wesley has his eyes on one of our own, literally. We gotta make sure he doesn't do something stupid, like try to give her a love potion." 

"Wesley wouldn't do that," Lucie sighed and pointed at Matthew. "You would know that if you deigned to speak with anyone outside of Gryffindor."

Matthew grinned and turned to Cordelia. "At least, I knew his name." 

Cordelia glared at him and said "It's not as if he's in my year!"

"No, but you did snog him," Matthew grinned. "Our little Cordelia growing up." He elbowed James and said "What do you think? First time we met her, she was this big." He widened his arms to resemble her size when she was a baby. 

James smiled and shook his head "First time we met her, we couldn't even say the word 'big.'" He met Cordelia's eyes, and three days ago, she might have lost herself in them. Today though, she met his stare blankly, and he faltered. "Cordelia is a big girl now, and as long as Wesley doesn't try anything stupid, it'll be nice for Daisy to fall in love." 

Lucie and Matthew said simultaneously "With Wesley?" with a voice so sarcastic and questioning that it made James straighten. 

James muttered "Well, he's an alright guy," 

Cordelia huffed, tired of the nonsense that Lucie and Matthew were trying to pull out of James. "I'm not falling in love with Wesley," She looked at Lucie. "I just got a little too excited about my appointment of captain and the school year that I decided to have a little bit of fun for once." 

Lucie laughed "A little bit of fun alright. I'm sure everyone there won't forget the sight of the little bit of fun you had." 

Matthew was drinking and he nearly choked on his sip as he rushed to say "Yeah that dance was something else entirely out of the realm of a little bit of fun." 

Grace called for James behind him, and he turned to her. Matthew and Lucie ignored her and whispered to Cordelia "What was that?" 

"What?" Cordelia shrugged. 

"You're acting so weird, why is it like you don't care about hi-" Lucie was cut off. 

"I'm going to be right back," James said and stood, only to walk over to Grace and sit beside her. 

Cordelia sighed. "Okay I lied last night when I said I didn't take anything." The pair's eyes bulged. "The new potions professor found me outside crying, and suggested a potion to help with my..." Cordelia's eyes fell on James and finished "Ailment." 

She shrugged again and said "So my feelings for James are gone." 

"All of them?" Lucie emphasized, and Cordelia thought about the sentence. Did she now feel the same for James as she did Matthew, or did she feel the same for James as she did Wesley? 

In the end, she decided a little out of breath "Yeah, all of them." 

Matthew looked at his food, deep in thought. "So if Grace held her wand to his throat and threatened to harm him, you wouldn't care at all?" 

Cordelia scoffed "Of course I would care. Just not anymore than I would care about someone else being in his position." Matthew shook his head. 

"I don't like this." He told her. Lucie nodded with him. "You didn't give him a hint of happiness or affection that you gave us here. It's like you iced him out, and you haven't eaten at all," He pointed at her plate. 

"I'm not hungry," She told them. "And this was my decision, I was tired of moping after him day and night. I was not going to sit here watching him canoodle with Grace and get married to her and have babies with her. I refused to, okay? It'd be too painful, and it's better this way. I can fake affection for him if I need to, but I was tired of hiding my feelings. So I'm not doing it." 

Lucie leaned closer, "You don't know the side effects of whatever the professor gave you, and why would she do it? She's Grace's mother. Maybe she wanted you out of the picture and that's why she did it." 

Cordelia stood up abruptly, and said "It's done. I can't take it back even if I wanted to." 

"But you made a mistake, Cordelia!" Lucie stood up and Cordelia began to walk away. She knew they'd garnered attention by now, especially James's. "Let us help you."

Lucie tried to grab Cordelia's arm, but she shrugged her off and whispered "You and Matthew have tried to help me for four years, and look where it got me. For once, I helped myself and I fixed it." 

~

Cordelia had made it through her first day of classes, though Lucie had been silent the entire time. She didn't realize how harsh her words had actually been, or how the void of feelings would affect her. 

She went to the one place that had always been her favorite, and her secret. She'd discovered it by chance and afterwards she'd only go into it if she really needed to study or be away from people. 

It would open at her bequest, and it would look like her bedroom every time. 

This time, she chose to sit in front of the fireplace. It was lit as per the magic of the room, and it was the only space she felt safe enough to cry. She didn't like crying because everyone seemed to think it made you weaker. She did realize what could happen if one's feelings were bottled up though, so she cried. For her friend, and because of the numbness in her heart. 

The truth was that she'd kissed Wesley because she wanted to fill the void, and it had done nothing. 

Now, she was afraid that the reason it had done nothing was because she would never love anyone the way she loved James. Instead, she'd always have this whole inside her that she'd try to fill with other men and drinks. 

"I never knew where you went when you disappeared off the map." 

It was Matthew. 

He'd found her, but by now her tears had dried up and her eyes had focused on the dancing flames. 

"You know, James told me where you disappeared and to find you. He said you seemed upset, and that I could probably fix it." 

Cordelia still said nothing. What could she say? 

"This place is pretty cool, it would be amazing for parties." He sat down beside her, and rather than the fire, she was hyperaware of Matthew. 

"I kissed Wesley because there's a void in me now. Professor Blackthorn said there would be, and said a girl a like me should be able to find someone to fill it easily." Cordelia looked up at the ceiling that perfectly matched hers, down to the placement of the stars her mother had permanently placed there. "He didn't fill it, and now I just wonder if I could love anyone again."

Matthew tilted his head at her with a goofy smile, "Cordelia," he muttered. "You kissed a boy whose name you didn't know, you kissed Wesley for Godric's sake. There's no reason you should have felt anything for him." 

And he was looking at her strangely, Cordelia decided. There was hope and insinuation in his gaze, and maybe Cordelia read it wrong. But she leaned forward and kissed him. She felt something, and she didn't know what but it was something. He pulled away pretty quickly and mumbled "What are you doing?" 

Cordelia turned to look at the fire, and said "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that...Can we just pretend it never happened-"

Matthew was kissing her. Her heart surged a little, and she melted. It was nice, really really nice. 

He filled the gaps with every kiss, and when he pulled away, the look in his eyes made her push for another.

And another. 

In the back of Cordelia's mind, she wondered when Matthew had seen her this way. She'd wondered if he'd perhaps been in her place, watching her love another as she had watched James love Grace. But the larger part of her smoothed over that thought and replaced it by saying that Matthew had a reputation, and maybe he was doing this because he knew she needed it. 

And then Cordelia thought about how Matthew had always been there. How perhaps in her blindness of loving James, she'd overlooked Matthew the whole time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, James and Cordelia are endgame, keep that in mind. But I also really wanted to write about Matthew and Cordelia a bit too. Anyways, hope you enjoyed. I'd really appreciate your thoughts! I forgot what I made the rating, so depending on that, next chapter might be more or less steamy.


	3. Playing With Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cordelia tries to fill the void in her, and Matthew confesses.

Cordelia felt like a guitar, and as Matthew deepened the kiss, someone was tightening the strings. His hands splayed on her shirt, and she found herself pulling her robes away from her. One of Matthew's hands trailed up from her waist to her jaw, and the other hand pulled her closer. 

She broke away and muttered "Come with me," 

"What?" Matthew whispered as if coming through a reverie. 

She stood, and held out a hand which he gingerly took. Cordelia guided him to her bed, when his knees hit the back of it, he sat down and followed him into his lap. Her heart was beating out of her chest and she thought, this, this is what I have been looking for. Then Matthew surged up into her lips, and she guessed she might have said that outloud. He cradled her head with one hand, and the other pressed her down into him and she gasped. 

Cordelia chased the feeling, pulling away from his lips and breathing his air as the feeling pulsed with in her. Her eyes shut, and just for a second, she saw golden eyes behind her eyelids. So she opened them, and found Matthew's hand on her thigh, trailing upward. 

"Cordelia," Matthew spoke softly. "Is this okay?" He sounded so vulnerable, Cordelia thought. He sounded the way Cordelia had always wanted James to sound when he professed feelings for her. Now, Cordelia couldn't find a reason within herself to say no. Why not Matthew? He had always been kind to her, sweeping her off the floor when her heart shattered.

So Cordelia said "Yes," and it came out more as a breath than anything but it was enough. It was enough for Matthew because he flipped Cordelia onto her back and began undoing the buttons on her shirt. She found herself following his steps, though she got his shirt off faster than he did hers. Then he was kissing down her neck, her chest, and then her navel. His hands fell to the zipper on the side of her skirt. When she looked down, her past fantasies filtered in waking life and it was James that looked up at her rather than the blonde boy she was actually doing this with. 

She looked up, concentrating on the feelings doing this spurred in her when he suddenly pulled her skirt down and kissed her over her underwear. 

Cordelia wanted to see him, so she looked down, and just over his shoulder was James. 

She thought maybe it was another figment of her imagination so she shut her eyes tightly, but when she opened them again he was still there, just by the door and gaping at them. "Matthew!" Cordelia gasped, and his hands were in the band of her underwear as if spurred on by her, but she swatted at his hands. She whisper-yelled "Look!" 

Matthew began to get off of her, and she pulled his shirt around her, trying to shield herself from his gaze. "I'm sorry, I-I was in shock," James blinked a few times and rubbed his hands anxiously as he turned away from them. "You guys were taking a while so I was afraid you were in trouble or something especially with both of you disappearing off the map like that-"

"James." Matthew said. His tone was hushing his rambling, and Cordelia a few days ago might have been devastated by this or even humored by his nervousness. 

Now all she felt was frustrated. 

"I didn't know you two were doing this," She couldn't pin point the emotion in his voice. "What-What caused this? This must've just happened today because you-"

"I'm in love with her, James." Matthew said. 

I'm in love with her.

There. The reason she couldn't do this. 

Because as much as Matthew made her feel, she felt guilty. She used him, she had chosen him but that was only after she made her feelings for James disappear. She had loved James for as long as she could remember, and Matthew had always been a friend. Cordelia's chest caved in, and she met James's gaze which seemed equally disturbed. 

Whether by his own feelings or maybe the look on her face. 

"Cordelia," James called. It was as if he knew, he was warning her not to break his best friend's heart. 

She couldn't, and yet when she thought about a future with Matthew, she felt suffocated. Not by him, but rather by that happiness and love that she might never be able to reciprocate. So this, this is what she would have put James through if she had managed to get him to go out with her, if Grace hadn't returned. 

And she looked at Matthew, who was looking at her with large eyes. Devastation. 

Love was a fickle thing, and it liked to destroy everything in its' wake. 

She couldn't destroy Matthew.

"I'm not there yet, if that's okay," She told him, knowing he would understand because he's Matthew and he knows her perhaps better than James. 

His chest fluttered and he nodded with a small smile "That's perfectly okay." And James left. 

~

"Today, we are dueling!" Professor Herondale clapped his hands in glee. Especially considering it was his favorite thing, James and Matthew knew considering Professor Herondale was James's dad. "You'll pair off and find a part of the room to practice." 

Matthew laughed, and knew they would pair off like usual. 

They found a large corner of the room, and James began a conversation. "Why did you never tell me you had feelings for Daisy?" 

Matthew sent a hex his way and James defended himself easily "I could have helped you be with her, she listens to me." 

The blonde boy laughed at James's obliviousness, "Does she?" 

James's brows furrowed, and he sent a spell his way, but Matthew reacted faster. In two seconds, he protected himself and sent a spell that caught James off guard. James brought his wrist up to shield his face instinctively, and the spell hit the bracelet Grace had given him. It untwisted itself from his wrist and turned to a small snake that James shoved off. It fell on the floor and hissed at Matthew. 

Will Herondale soared in and sent a spell at the snake that caused it to freeze. James looked up indignantly at Matthew and scoffed "You were going to turn me into a snake?" 

Matthew leveled him with a look, and said "No, of course not. It was a tickling charm." 

Will looked at James, and said "What was it before it was the snake?" James rubbed his wrist. 

"It was the bracelet Grace gave me." 

Will looked murderous as he yelled "Stop all dueling! I'm sending in Filch until the end of class." 

James stumbled back, and Matthew's gaze darted to him. Images of Matthew and Cordelia bombarded him, and James swallowed down bile. "Are you okay?" Matthew questioned. 

James choked out "Yeah,"

The image of Matthew kissing down Cordelia, of her mouth hanging open, the look she gave him when she saw him there. Like he wasn't real. He let out a shake-y breath. He didn't understand what he was feeling. "Grace must've done something to the bracelet," Matthew told him with a hand on his shoulder. James didn't know when he'd gotten that close. What would Grace even want to be done to James? He already loved her didn't he? Did he? Why would he be thinking about Matthew and Cordelia then? 

Oh. 

James closed his eyes tightly, and his father's voice calling him to follow him made him open them and listen.


	4. Family Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James makes a few realizations and plans.

James was a bit out of it while following his father to Branwell's office. He was too wrapped up in his thoughts. 

And every one of them were of her. 

He thought about one day last year where he, Matthew, Lucie, Cordelia and a few others had a picnic by the lake. They'd snuck out snacks, and they transfigured their robes to be blankets. Cordelia had used hers for the four of them, and she'd had her hair pulled up in a bun atop her head with a pencil stuck through. Her skin was warm, and her hair was so vibrant that when the sun struck it, James had been taken back. It was like as the thoughts floated to the surface of the mind, the bracelet had swept them and the memory of them away. 

She had been so beautiful that day, James thought to himself. 

But the thoughts twisted and flailed in him when he remembered that his best friend was in love with her, and she had been willing to try with him. Even though James could read the panic on her face when she had found out about Matthew's feelings, he couldn't admit any feelings for Cordelia while she and Matthew were whatever they were. James was never great at hiding things though, so eventually he decided he would talk with Lucie about the situation. Lucie had always been understanding and honest. Normally about things like this, he'd go to Matthew...or Daisy, but they were out of the question. 

"James." His father called his name, and James's head rose quickly as they stepped into the office. "Charlotte," His father called out. The woman turned from the window on the second floor that was more a balcony in the room than anything else. 

"Will?" She questioned. 

"One of the students gave my son a cursed object," Will informed her, and she tensed. James glanced between the pair and eventually decided to stare at his feet. "Grace Blackthorn." Will finished. 

Charlotte began making her way down to the floor they were on and she said "James? I would like to hear how you got this object from her." 

James looked up barely and explained "Grace gave me the bracelet before she left in third year, and I've worn it since. In a duel with Matthew, he sent a tickling charm at me and my bracelet caught it and it turned into a baby snake. It hissed at him." 

Will turned from his son to Charlotte like a parent with a face that said "What are you going to do about that?" 

Charlotte's eyes darted from Will's face and she sighed. "What did you experience while wearing the bracelet? Any side effects that you are currently suspicious of?" 

James's lips tightened and he released a shake-y breath. "It's more so what I didn't feel while wearing it," He said and found his hands fidgeting with his robes. "Before I wore it, I was very loyal to Grace. I thought I was going to marry her at 12, so I never really questioned it when I never felt anything romantic for anyone else even when she left." 

He huffed a bitter laugh "Herondales usually love with everything, and only love once. So I thought it was normal." 

"So you're saying the bracelet prevented you from getting feelings for anyone else?" Charlotte accentuated. 

James's head rose and he said "I'm saying it didn't let me recognize when I did have those feelings. I was blind to everyone but her even when she didn't send me letters but once every four months." 

Will smiled and asked "Who do you have feelings for, James?" James shook his head and his mouth opened but no words came out. The weight of his feelings hit him all at once and his eyes watered. He tried to hide it by looking down but his father was quicker. Will stepped forward and laid a hand on his shoulder "What is it?" 

James looked at Charlotte and blinked away his tears. "It doesn't matter, it's too late," He muttered. 

Will had a knowing look in his eye and put his other hand on James's other shoulder to bring him face-to-face with him. "I will only say this once, but life has a funny way of playing out. When you think it's too late is exactly the moment it was meant to happen. Your mother said the same thing to me, you know." 

"Why would Grace want to do this to me?" James asked and the tears reinforced themselves. 

James had felt so little for so long, and all of them hitting him at once was leaving him devastated. 

"The situation is delicate," Charlotte Branwell spoke from behind them. "With everything going on outside of these walls, she could have meant to use your unwavering loyalty to her advantage."

Will turned harshly, "Are you implying she may have a future as a death eater and was planning the same future for my son?" 

Charlotte looked down at James's chest briefly before nodding. "There were rumors, and I had hoped by having them here that I could keep an eye on them. To perhaps sway them back to our side to use as double agents. There may be hope yet for Grace, but I'm afraid Tatiana Blackthorn is probably past saving."

Will looked livid. "Our children are here, others people children are here, and you thought bringing in death eaters would be a good idea?" 

Charlotte met James's eyes. "Yes, there was a prophecy and I expected that I would have to make bad choices for the greater good. To win this war. James, I have something to ask of you and if you do not feel up to it, that is perfectly fine." James's eyes narrowed in confusion just a bit, and she continued. "We will create a replica of the bracelet Grace got you using your memories, and then if you wish, you will pretend it is the original. You will follow her, gain her trust, and learn as many secrets about the other side as you can. Will you do that?"

"Professor Branwell! I'm here to report a misdoing by a professor of yours!" Little Lucie Herondale entered the office and stopped shortly as she noticed James and her father. "What is this? A family reunion?" Her nose turned up and she straightened as she saw the look her father gave her. 

"A wrongdoing? By a professor?" Will asked. Lucie's eyes darted to James and she winced. 

She began to try to explain without details "Professor Blackthorn gave a friend of mine an unauthorized potion." 

At the same time, Will asked "Unauthorized?" as James said "Daisy?" 

Lucie huffed. "I have other friends." 

James shrugged, "Not ones I know of." 

"Enough," Charlotte ordered. "Ms. Herondale, you'll have to explain with more than that." 

Lucie rubbed her hands together and pointed at James as she said "Can he leave then?" 

They all sat in silence. "Fine!" Lucie whispered-yelled. "She gave my friend a potion that she said it would get rid of romantic feelings for another specific person." Lucie scratched her head awkwardly. "My friend has been, well, my friend has made a bunch of bad decisions since then and described feeling a void where those feelings used to be that needed to be filled." 

"Who did Cordelia get rid of feelings for?" Will Herondale asked, and Lucie gasped. 

"I have other friends!" She said indignantly. 

"None others that you would come here for." Will gave her a pointed look. Lucie refused to look at James to avoid giving it away. "Was it James?" 

"DAD!" James yelled. Lucie finally looked between the two with brows furrowed. 

"What?" Will shrugged. "Just seems to me that the Blackthorns care far too much about what you and Cordelia feel." 

Lucie raised her hand, and all three people looked at her strangely. "Hi, yes, I am confused. What did they do to James?" 

"It doesn't matter," James grumbled. 

There was silence for a moment, and then Lucie said loudly, "Um, YES, it does!" 

Will clapped his hands, "So it was him!" 

"There's a little issue," James pointed out. "Even if it was me, it was an unauthorized potion that we don't know if can be reversed or how to reverse it, and Matthew's in love with her!" 

Lucie huffed "What? That's ridiculous." 

James bit the inside of his cheek and said "I found them together Lucie. He told me, and her by the way. They're basically together now." 

Lucie stared into empty space and shook her head. "How can he be with her knowing that the moment we fix her, she'll choose you." 

James watched her, and muttered "You can't know that." 

Lucie laughed bitterly. "James, she took a potion to be rid of her feelings for you because the pain of seeing you with Grace was too great. She's loved you since like forever. She couldn't love anyone else even though she really wanted to. I bet hearing Matthew's confession made her panic because she's afraid she'll never care for him the way she cares for you, and the weight of his love would crush her. That was how she felt when she dated Kian for those few weeks last year. She loves Matthew, she cares about him more than any guy here aside from her brother and you, but if you have feelings for her and we reverse the potion, she won't be able to choose Matthew--and he knows that." 

"James." Charlotte said. "We'll work on finding the reversal potion while you get close with Grace. This information does not leave this room, and you cannot pursue Cordelia until the reversal potion and until you get information we need from Grace. Do you understand?" 

James nodded. 

"I appreciate your love for my son enough to be willing to step back from someone you're in love with, that is a great sacrifice. But if she's in love with you, their relationship is doom to fail anyway, do not hate yourself for loving her. My son is strong, and he will find someone who loves him just as much as he loves them, you do not have to worry about that," Charlotte assured him, and James sighed in relief a bit. 

"Yeah, he's pretty amazing." 

Charlotte nodded with a smile. 

"Now, all of you, back to your classes."


	5. Dreams and Prophecies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James enacts the plan, and Cordelia finds the potion’s effects waning, causing her to ask for more.

James found himself shifting and turning for an hour after trying to sleep. It was maybe 2 in the morning, and he didn’t know how he was going to function enough tomorrow to do this. 

It was like his body was hyper aware of every sound, feeling, and thought he had. He wanted to scream at the sky and fly through it on a broom. 

So it made sense why his body stilled when he heard a door open. There was no sound following it aside from his heartbeat in his ears. If deatheaters were here, what’s to say they wouldn’t try to kill him? James was ready to dash out and grab his wand when the curtains around his bed pushed open. 

Rather than it being a psycho deatheater or even crazed professor, it was Cordelia. 

His heart continued to act as if it had been a deatheater it seemed. She was wearing her normal pajamas of some shorts and t-shirt, and she shoved James back into the confines of the curtains, making room for herself to sit in as well. 

James’s mind blanked for the first time all day. “Daisy?” He asked. 

How she’d snuck passed Filch to get to the head student quarters, he’d never know. She seemed nervous though, like a wire was about to be thrown in the water she stood in or something. 

“Daisy.” James said again and she sighed. 

“Just once,” she told him. “I need you out of my system.” 

James’s mind jumped to all of the conclusions that could mean and his mouth opened with no words coming out. 

“I thought you...I thought you took a potion,” James whispered even as he neared her. It was as if they were magnets, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t stop. 

“It didn’t work,” She whispered and darted forward to meet him the rest of the way. She pulled herself into his lap, and his hands sat on her waist lowly before twisting behind her and pulling her closer by her bottom. 

She made a harsh sound in the back of her throat, and James’s hands fell lower, ghosting over the area she wanted him most. It was like he knew automatically that she didn’t just want to kiss him, and he wasn’t thinking but when she pulled away, he opened his eyes and saw the look on her face.

Her eyes were closed, her mouth open just barely, and her body acted on his own accordance of trying to get James’s hand where it needed by shoving down. She let out a breath at the feeling and James brought one hand to her front where he knew was generally where it would feel best, and the other just on her hip under her shirt. 

“James,” she whispered and began to grind against his hand, and it made James want to implode. His other hand busied itself with crawling higher and higher under her shirt until he just grazed the under part of her breast. 

“Daisy,” James whispered her name like a prayer when she met his eyes. He held her gaze, and mumbled “Is this what you look like when you fall apart thinking about me?” 

A part of James realized in that moment that he wouldn’t say that in real life, not after their first kiss or makeout or even during the first time they had sex. He wasn’t that kind of person, and logically he knew that this couldn’t be real. But he wanted it to be, so he continued. 

Cordelia brought one of her hands from his shoulders, to his jaw and she grabbed it harshly. She brought her lips just before his so that he could feel them move when she sighed “Yes.” And then she brought their lips back together. 

She began working on undoing the buttons on his button up pajamas, only showing reactions when James pressed particularly hard or when his fingers flicked her nipple. His top came off, and her hands began to wonder over him. 

And then his hand slipped into her shorts, and she froze. 

James froze too, about to pull away out of fear of doing something wrong or moving too fast when she whispered “If you don’t move your hands where they should be, I might just kill you.” He began to pull away and both hands latched onto his wrist, pushing his hand lower. 

He pulled away, bringing his hand from under her shirt to hold her head as she had done him. Her eyes held his gaze, and it was so intense as she moved him exactly where she wanted. 

And then he moved even farther, sliding his middle finger in easily. He moved his hand and then slid in another. 

Her hands fell back on his shoulders and she began to ride his hand. 

He thought he could burst from the sight alone. 

Daisy sought out of her own pleasure with him, and when she finally found it, her head tipped back and her mouth opened wide. The most erotic sound escaped her, and it echoed in his ears.

Even when he woke up. 

He looked down at his covers, and his head fell back against his pillow as he said “Shit.” 

-

At breakfast, Cordelia was angrily eating a cookie. She’d come down with Lucie and Matthew, and when Matthew brought up that they were trying Lucie gave her a knowing look. One that screamed, “You’re making yet another bad decision because of that potion, and you know that this will end the same way your last relationship did.” 

And it bugged her to say the least, so now she was angrily eating a snickerdoodle cookie. Though she imagined it was hard to look intimidating while eating a cookie, so Lucie probably just found it funny which made her even more annoyed. 

“Hey guys,” James came in behind Lucie, and sat down. Grace called his name lowly, and he turned just barely, waving with a small smile and turning to meet Cordelia’s gaze. Her heart stirred a tad in her chest. 

Cordelia thought to herself, that was weird. Not the Grace thing but her heart deciding to do the hoedown in her chest. 

And then she got the song in her head. Granted it was very catchy. 

Cordelia’s eyes pulled away from him when she found Matthew staring at her out of the corner of her eye. “At least James was supportive,” Cordelia jabbed at Lucie who laughed like she saw a banshee was wearing a bright pink tutu. 

“James has no idea about relationships. He’s probably not even got to second base with a girl.” 

“Hey,” James muttered. Though he felt better about her saying that to explain her laugh than why she probably actually laughed. “Not true, in fifth year we played seven minutes in heaven with a couple of girls in our year.” 

He piled food onto his plate, paused, and then turned on her. “Why am I defending myself to you? You shouldn’t have gotten past kissing.” 

Cordelia grinned “We had a few games of our own in our year.” 

Matthew acted offended “And you didn’t invite us?” 

Lucie deadpanned “Invite my brother and his best friend who I don’t have any romantic attraction for whatsoever? Yeah sure sounds like a great idea.” 

Matthew acted equally dry “Yeah, but for Cordelia.” 

“Cordelia had better suitors vying for her attention, why should I try to put you two in the picture?” 

“Suitors?” Matthew and James said, turning to Cordelia. They had always prided themselves on not letting prats as they called them near her. So finding out that some made it under their radar, clearly peaked their interest. 

Cordelia stuffed another cookie into her face. 

Lucie snapped her fingers in their faces to get their attention, “Cordelia is a well sought out woman, and deserving of it. Get your heads out of your asses. They aren’t very good looking hats.” 

Cordelia shoved away her plate and stood up abruptly, grabbing another cookie to take with her along with her things. “Alright, I’ll see you guys later, I have to organize practices and tryouts!” She waved bye at them and dashed out of the great hall.

“Right,” James muttered and moved to sit with Grace. 

Matthew scoffed. “Even knowing she gave him a bracelet that turned into a snake, he goes back to her all in love.” 

Lucie looked at him with concern, and said “Why did you do it?” 

Matthew knew exactly what she meant. He looked at his plate and said “She looked broken and void all day, and when she kissed me it was the first time I saw any emotion on her face. It was like maybe I could be the one to fix her for good. Like I had a chance.” 

Her eyes were full of pity which she knew he hated so she looked at a bowl of bread down the table. 

“You’re going to break your own heart.” 

Matthew smiled sadly and said “I know.” 

-

Cordelia did have to organize practice and tryout schedules, but it was something she’d planned on doing her free first period. Instead now, she was rushing to the potions room. 

Professor Blackthorn was speaking with someone, so Cordelia waited outside of the room. She caught bits and pieces of the conversation but wasn’t paying attention until she heard a hiss. 

“Get them out. Failure is unacceptable here. You know the consequences if you don’t succeed, you know everything we have done will have been for nothing.” 

“I will.” Her voice was determined, and Cordelia was about to step away when Professor Blackthorn opened the door. Her face looked shocked, and she said “Cordelia!”

Cordelia tried to look over her shoulder to see who else was in there, but it was empty. 

She met Professor Blackthorn’s gaze. “Who are you trying to get out? Why is it important?” 

The woman looked up and down the hall, and ushered Cordelia inside. 

“You cannot speak a word of this to anyone.” 

Cordelia nodded. 

“I’m part of the Order.” Professor Blackthorn told her, knowing she had her when Cordelia’s eyes widened in wonder. “There is a prophecy about two students here, and because of that they are in great danger.” 

“Who are the two students?” Cordelia whispered. 

Professor Blackthorn shrugged, “The prophecy claimed one student would be two sides of the same coin, born under light and born under darkness, clarity and obscurity. It said that together they could save worlds, and apart they could destroy them.” 

Cordelia frowned “That doesn’t make me think of anyone.” Professor Blackthorn stared at her for a moment. 

“There was one more line but it might be too telling,” Professor Blackthorn whispered conspiratorially, as if she couldn’t handle the truth. 

Baiting her. 

Cordelia took it “No please, I can help protect them if I see any suspicious behavior and report it to you! Or if you don’t know who they are, I could help you figure it out!” 

Professor Blackthorn nodded and said “The prophecy said that both students as children would have exhibited two sets of magic, one of darkness, and one of fire.” 

Cordelia thought that that wasn’t that telling, she thought those were common enough magic manifestations. She had played with fire quite a bit, she almost set her father on fire once. Just a little. 

“I’m sorry I don’t know who they could be,” Professor Blackthorn nodded. 

She asked “Why were you coming to meet me originally?” 

Cordelia fiddled with her hands. “Do you have any more of that potion? I think it’s fading.” 

Professor Blackthorn’s face became unreadable, and she said “That shouldn’t be possible.” 

Cordelia’s heart at that breakfast table would personally disagree. It was like it was falling all over again with James, with the vibrancy he showed them. When he had seemed slightly jealous at the idea of other boys kissing her, she hated that she enjoyed it, especially when Matthew had just the same reaction. So yes, it was fading for whatever reason. 

She sighed in frustration, “I don’t have anymore and I don’t have all the ingredients to make some. I’ll have to order them. I’m sorry.” Professor Blackthorn told her, and Cordelia’s disappointment made her vibrate with pent up energy. 

She definitely needed practices to release all of it. 

Cordelia found she had no patience for a conversation any longer so she said “Ok,” and walked away. Professor Blackthorn’s jaw hung open a little before she slapped a hand to her face when Cordelia left.


	6. Lies and Gold Dresses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cordelia spends more time with Professor Blackthorn, and James finds out the potion is fading. They get invited to a party.

Cordelia was avoiding...well everyone. She’d dove into studying and practices. Despite Matthew, Lucie, and James being on the quidditch team, it was surprisingly easy to avoid them while on broomsticks. 

Matthew didn’t try after the first three times, and Cordelia had felt bad. She’d told him she needed time so that she could figure things out and avoid hurting him in the future. 

While not a lie, it wasn’t the truth. 

Lucie on the other hand had become angry, sometimes refusing to leave her side until Cordelia managed to slip past her. While James had almost been avoiding her too. She’d catch him looking at her, in the same way she accidentally found herself looking at him. 

The truth was that it wasn’t just the feelings Cordelia was running from. She was sneaking away to meet with Professor Blackthorn. They’d gotten acquainted, and while they brewed the potion awaiting the last ingredients, Cordelia had been trying to help her figure out who the students were that needed protection. 

James had seen her there once. He’d come with Grace who needed something from her mother. Professor Blackthorn had sneered at James, but James was only looking at Cordelia. Cordelia had managed a total of looking at him for three seconds, taking in the hurt in his eyes, before it became too much and she met Grace’s gaze instead. 

“Trying to steal my mother, Carstairs?” Grace had joked, and Cordelia shook her head and looked at the ground. “Good. Mother, when is that thing going to happen again? I want to be prepared for it. You know outfits and everything.”

Professor Blackthorn hardly looked away from James when she said “Christmas.” 

“Is Cordelia coming to your monthly party?” Grace’s nose turned up at the girl. 

Professor Blackthorn made a motion telling her daughter to leave as she said “I was planning to invite her yes.” 

“Party?” Cordelia found herself asking. 

Professor Blackthorn turned to her with a smile “Yes my favorite students are invited to dinner and dancing. But only sixth and seventh years of course.” 

“When is it?” 

Professor Blackthorn dug some papers out as if to busy herself as she said “This Saturday from 6-9” 

~

Lucie had stormed into the great hall for dinner, and sat in front of Cordelia. She stabbed at her food for a few minutes, and Cordelia sighed. “What?” 

Lucie’s eyes bulged a little and she whisper-yelled “You’re spending your free time with Professor BLACKTHORN?” James was strangely sitting beside Cordelia, and she’d been aware of him the entire time so she took this moment to look at him. 

“You told her?” 

James’s face was sad, or numb. Cordelia followed his gaze to Grace who was waving at him and James glanced down at his plate. “I didn’t know it was a big deal,” James finally said, and it was a lie. Lucie was the only one who knew, and she wanted to yell at him and Cordelia for all the lying. 

“It’s not.” Cordelia said through gritted teeth. 

“First of all, the woman poisoned you, and now she’s what? got some leverage over you? Mind voodoo? What is it?” Lucie continued to fuss. 

“Nothing.” 

“Poison?” James questioned, to keep up the act of confused lil ole James. Cordelia only looked at him for a moment before continuing with Lucie. 

“She’s helping me with potions okay?” 

“As if you need the help.” Matthew added. 

Cordelia glanced at him and looked at her plate. “I need the help brewing a certain potion for sure.” 

James smiled “What a birth control potion?” 

Lucie knew he was lying, over and over and over again. This was killing him. He wouldn’t even look at Grace. 

“Yes.” Cordelia took the lie and ran with it, ignoring the way the boys choked on their food. 

Lucie scoffed. “That potion had horrible side effects last time you had it Cordelia. Not only that, but you don’t need it.” Cordelia was obviously not in love with James, so if she was trying to brew it to fall out of love with someone else that would be ridiculous. 

“I do. It’s fading.” The spoon that was on the way to Matthew’s mouth froze, and so did James but Cordelia didn’t notice. James’s heart was beating out of his chest and it took everything in him not to look at her, to try to find his feelings reflected in her eyes. 

Matthew’s spoon dropped onto his plate, and he stood up “If you’ll excuse me.” He left. 

Cordelia’s eyes closed tightly. 

“She said she thinks three doses may have more lasting effects.” Cordelia opened her eyes to find Lucie staring at James. 

For a heartbeat, she was terrified Lucie was communicating silently everything she didn’t want James to know but when she looked at James, he was staring at the spot Matthew left from. “You can’t,” Lucie finally said. “I won’t let you.” 

“This seems like more than a birth control,” James joked but his voice was uneasy. 

“I don’t see how you could stop me.” 

~ 

James felt like he was going to throw up. Grace Blackthorn stood on his arm in a light blue dress, attracting the attention of every guy in the room. Except his because his attention kept snagging on one girl who was communicating with another student with low whispers. Cordelia who was wearing a gold dress and had her hair pinned up beautifully. 

She was talking with her brother actually, and her hands kept fidgeting with the necklace she wore. It was a gift from Lucie, a single chain with a ring on it. Lucie had found the ring in her things when she was twelve, completely forgetting it had been a gift from James when she was eight. 

It didn’t matter anyway, James felt more tied to Cordelia this way. Like that chain wrapped around him too and kept him tethered to her so that every step she took, he was aware of it. 

She was stunning, and he couldn’t breathe even when he looked at Grace. He gave her adoring looks but the truth was that every fake face he made was cause he imagined he was looking at Daisy rather than the girl that had cursed him. 

It wasn’t fair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....so next chapter is gonna be interesting.


	7. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James and Cordelia finally stop being hardheaded and talk to each other.

Cordelia wasn’t entirely surprised to find her brother at the party, though he seemed miserable to even be there. He kept looking in the direction behind her at the door, as if he was waiting for someone to enter. 

Cordelia supposed he might have been, and she surely couldn’t judge him when she was so keenly aware of every noise James’s made. She had to control herself when she heard him laugh, to keep herself from looking in his direction. 

And then it had been dinner. 

Grace and Cordelia sat at the sides of Professor Blackthorn, placing James and Alastair across from each other. With Thomas on the other side of James. 

Grace had been the one to start conversation when she said “It must be horrible for you two.” Referencing Cordelia and Alastair. “Your father’s trial in a few months must be weighing on you deeply.” 

If Cordelia had been naive, she would have seen it as pity. But she wasn’t, and her eyes met James’s to see if he would defend her or even recognize what his girlfriend was doing in the first place. James was looking at his plate. “How is your mother coping?” Grace asked. 

“Fine. The Herondales have done a great kindness in letting us stay with them while they search our house.” Cordelia added, forcing a smile at James. His answer was to look up abruptly and nod with a tight grin. 

Cordelia knew what she said was slightly mean, rubbing it in Grace’s face that she was staying with the Herondales over holidays. She was almost surprised Alastair wasn’t fighting her, but when she looked his way, he had been in a quiet discussion with Thomas. 

So alone to fend off Grace, then, Cordelia thought to herself. 

The threat of Cordelia’s presence at the Herondales must have been particularly demeaning considering Grace’s response was “Oh yes, they are lovely for taking in the family of a man headed to Azkaban for leading Aurors into slaughter.” 

Cordelia’s face blanked of any emotion. She could barely hear Professor Blackthorn chiding her daughter over the white noise in her ears as she met James’s gaze. This is who you’re with, she wanted to say. How can you love her, she wanted to ask. 

“Yes,” Cordelia found herself saying breathlessly. “They have earned all of my respect, and loyalty,” and her gaze found Grace’s again as she said “And I sincerely hope you’re never one of them.” 

The sound of her chair squeaking against the floor interrupted all conversation, and she hastily left the room unaware of James following not far behind her. 

Cordelia had been walking back to Gryffindor common room when she was suddenly pulled into a storage closet. Her mouth opened to scream but a hand covered her lips and James whispered “It’s me.” 

She first thought that James was an idiot for following her, how it would look to everyone. Then she thought he was an idiot because Cordelia wanted to fuss at him for choosing a girl that would walk so unceremoniously over people including her, one of his best friends. And then all thoughts were interrupted as he said “It’s me, Daisy.” 

“I’m sorry I insulted your girlfriend.” Was all Cordelia could really say. It was like her mouth was stuffed with cotton and her heart was running a marathon as she took in the situation of being in a broom closet with James. 

“Don’t.” James mumbled. “I’m so tired of this,” He seemed to lean against the wall behind him based on the sounds Cordelia heard. Her heart sunk as she considered that he meant her. 

“I’m not in love with Grace.” James told her. 

Then why? The words repeated in Cordelia’s head over and over again. 

“My crush on her was real at first, but after she left she gave me that bracelet, right?” 

Cordelia nodded but then realized it was dark so she said “Yeah,” 

“Matthew destroyed the bracelet in a duel, and it turned into a small snake that hissed at him.” 

Cordelia sucked in a breath, then why be with her? 

She hadn’t realized she had said it out loud. 

“Because her and her mother are rumored to have ties or actually be Death-eaters. They told me I had to get close to Grace to figure out their plans and get information.” 

Cordelia was silent, and she jumped when she felt James’s hand reach for hers. “Professor Branwell said there was a prophecy and that she’d have to make some bad decisions for the greater good, but I’m dying.” 

Cordelia held her breath “Why?” She asked. 

“The bracelet numbed me for years to a lot of things. I thought I was just growing up but when the bracelet was destroyed I was hit with all of these emotions I had never known I had,” James began. “And I could only think about one thing.” 

James let her hand go. “I had never felt that sort of heartbreak before, it was nearly crippling.” 

“Heartbreak?” Cordelia asked. 

“Seeing you and Matthew together.” James finally said. 

“Professor Branwell told me not to tell you any of it, but I don’t see why leaving you out would keep you safe or the plan any less in tact. You could even spy on Professor Blackthorn for us-“ James was ranting when Cordelia had been silent. 

“You-You have feelings for me?” Cordelia whispered. 

A soft “Yeah” fell into the air, and there it sat for a few moments. 

“You took a potion to get rid of your feelings for me?” James finally asked. 

Cordelia didn’t have the heart to question how he knew that, so she said “Yeah,” 

“And are they?” James asked. “Gone still, I mean?” He corrected. 

He didn’t hear anything so he said “Daisy?” 

He heard her voice come from closer to the floor, a whispered “I can’t breathe.” He fell to his knees beside her, his hands falling on her kneecaps to reach her face as he held it reverently. 

“Professor Blackthorn said that she was looking for two students, one of light and dark. A student that manifested fire as a child, and a student that manifested darkness.” Cordelia explained. “Grace kept you from your feelings, and Professor Blackthorn sought me out in my time of pain, she took advantage of it so that I would get rid of my feelings. The prophecy also said that together, the students could save worlds, and apart could destroy them.” 

James’s hands fell to where his thumbs just barely sat on her face, and his palms touched her neck. “What are you saying?” 

“What if the reason they wanted us apart was because they wanted us to destroy the world?” 

James hadn’t even connected the dots that he’s manifested darkness as a child. That one of his first moments had been with Lucie and Cordelia, where he’d covered the entire room with darkness. Lucie had whined about it, but he couldn’t control it exactly. Cordelia had giggled and jumped around it trying to find either of the Herondale siblings. She said it made her like a ninja. 

He had also been there when she first manifested. It was over summer break and she’d lit every candle in the house. Then when it scared her, she set flame to the fireplace and James could barely contain his reaction of “wicked.” James remembered it now as the first moment he had ever looked at Cordelia, and really recognized her. 

“We should probably talk to Professor Branwell, then.” James mumbled. “Perhaps should leave out the confession of feelings bit though.” 

“James?” Cordelia whispered. 

“Yeah?” 

“I’m in love with you, you know. I always have been,” She told him. 

His thumbs caressed her cheeks. He said “I think apart of me has been in love with you all along.” 

“I always saw you in my future, even when Grace hadn’t been and my future felt dark, you were the light. Everything was easier with you around. I cared and loved you in ways I didn’t notice, and when I didn’t notice it, neither did the bracelet.” 

“Kiss me,” Cordelia pleaded. 

James made a noise in the back of his throat as his mouth met hers. It wasn’t exactly the way he dreamed but in every way was better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops, cliffhanger. don’t worry it gets more into the kiss in the next chapter :)


	8. Midnight Flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cordelia and James decide to be sneaky in more ways than one. Short chapter.

Kissing James was a full body experience, Cordelia decided. Of course there was touch, the sliding of their lips and hands across anywhere they could reach. Cordelia had to stifle the sound that came out of her mouth when James's hand latched onto her breast. Then when James pulled back to look at her face, she found the darkness in his eyes entrancing. They were gold usually, and the way he looked at her produced a rushing feeling in the pit of her stomach. 

He'd taken to kissing her again, but rather than her lips he kissed her neck. Between kisses, he said "I dreamt of you, the first night after the bracelet came off." His lips trailed up to the spot just under her ear, and he whispered "You snuck in my room, and said you just wanted me once, just to have me out of your system." Cordelia let out a shaky laugh. 

"I tried to get you out and it didn't work, I don't imagine you'll be out of my system after once, or a lifetime full of it," James drug his lip across the top of her ear before kissing a path from her brow to her nose. "The potion was supposed to be a one time thing you know, but it started to fade after a week." He leaned down, and met her eyes. 

Gold met black, darkness met flame. Yin and yang. 

"Good," James mumbled and met her lips. Her head tilted back at the force of it, and his hand cradled the back of it. Cordelia's hands reached up to his back, pressing him closer. The hand that was under her head fell down the length of her hair to her bottom, and his other hand met it. He lifted her and managed to find a small table where he supposed products would have sat. It was more of a shelf, but it was stable enough to hold her. James pushed into the cradle between her legs, and let out a ragged breath between kisses. 

"Won't Grace be worried you aren't coming back?" Cordelia pulled away and he stared at her swollen lips through the fog in his head as he processed what she said. 

"You're thinking about Grace while we're kissing?" James finally asked. 

Cordelia shook her head with a grin, she said "You can't ruin this, not for a few minutes of kissing."

"It's not just a few minutes of kissing," James mumbled. "It's a few minutes of kissing you." 

Cordelia's heart ached, and she looked down at the place where he fit so perfectly between her legs. She met his gaze determinedly. "Meet me here every Sunday at 4:30." When James nodded, she smiled lightly and shoved him away gently "Now go dupe a witch." 

James pulled his wand out, and tried to use a spell that might bring the swelling down in both of their lips. Then he left to go back to the party, holding Cordelia's eyes until she was out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a longer chapter next, but I just wanted this one out because I don't feel like writing more tonight and I don't put these on a doc or save them. Though I probably should cause having a beta reader would be kind of nice. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and I would really like your feedback or theories of how I could tie Chain of Gold into the HPU. Happy Thanksgiving eve?


	9. By the Fingertips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cordelia saves Lucie's life.

It had been two weeks since Cordelia and James decided to sneak around. The thought of it still sent chills up Cordelia's back. It was insane. That all this time, a small bracelet was the reason James didn't care for her romantically. That now that it was gone, he loved her. He loved her in the all consuming way she had love him, the way she had only dreamed to be cared for. Despite the secrecy, she finally had James, and she found herself looking forward to the moments when she'd catch his eye. 

Because he'd look at her, and she'd know that look was just for her. It was a look of a thousand words, thoughts and memories. The memory of last Sunday, when they'd kissed until Cordelia was dizzy and James couldn't breathe. The memory of James's whispered words at her ears talking about how he had never wanted anything more in his life. By the time they were comfortable enough to go back to the real world, James procured a notebook. He told her they could talk in it, and every page would become blank whenever they wished. They hadn't written in it much, just before they'd go to sleep; they'd ask each other about what they learned. 

Cordelia would sit over the journal in her bed with a light beaming from her wand. She'd try to pull the curtains closed to conceal the light more, but Lucie could tell. Lucie just never told her. You see, Lucie was wrapped in her own conundrum. One night, when she'd been looking for this secret room that Matthew told her he found Cordelia in, and she'd stumbled upon a boy. A ghost. He seemed a little older than her, and there was no obvious reason for his death such as was with Nearly Headless Nick. He'd stared at her in shock, like she wasn't supposed to see him, or be out she supposed. He was little less transparent than most ghosts. The only reason she had known had been that his image was fuzzy at the edges.

"What's your name?" She'd asked him. He'd looked like he was debating on disappearing before her very eyes, and she said "I'm Lucie Herondale." 

He sucked in a breath, which Lucie found funny considering he didn't need to breath. "I'm Jesse," He'd told her eventually. 

Then Grace had left a door nearby, eyeing Lucie. Lucie found herself saying "Can you see him?" Grace paused. Her eyes fluttered to Jesse, and back to Lucie warily. 

"You can?" Grace asked, and Jesse's eyes widened--like Lucie was a child about to get caught. 

"Uh," Lucie muttered, before swiveling on her feet and hightailing it out of there. 

It was this encounter that pushed Lucie to figure out who Jesse was, and what was his relation to Grace. Also, why shouldn't others be able to see him? What kind of enchantment could they have put on a ghost to make him invisible to everyone but them? Lucie held old daily prophets under her own set of blankets with a light. She hadn't come across the name Jesse yet, but she was only back to a few years. Theoretically, he could have died twenty years ago, but not yesterday. She checked that one too. By the time she was finished checking them for the night, Cordelia had long put away her journal and light. 

Gryffindor had their first match today, and Cordelia was anxious. It wasn't just the first match of the year, and against Slytherin, but it was also her first match as captain. She had to prove herself. There was already a small celebration planned if they win, and she'd have a bunch of Gryffindors very very disappointed in that alone. Plus, a small part of her wanted to beat Slytherin just to feel like she could beat Grace. She wasn't on the team, so it was very irrational of her which she knew. 

It was this that kept Cordelia's blood pounding in her head as soon as she got in the air. She could see James in the stands with Thomas and Grace. He was good at quidditch, and he had been on the team until last year. He was actually captain last year, but he decided that his responsibilities would be too great to add on practices so he quit. Cordelia wished he was on the team, for one they'd have a better chance. For another, she wouldn't have to see him beside her every time she glanced at the stands. It only added to her nerves and made her a little nauseous. 

Her hands were clammy, and she rubbed them on her uniform quickly as the game started. She found herself consistently having to do so as her hands would slip and her stomach would dip as she did. She'd meet Lucie's eyes, as they leveled the field, looking for the snitch. It was during one of these moments that Cordelia glanced behind her in the stands as a wand waved smoothly and quickly. It happened slowly before her eyes though, watching as Lucie's broom began to try to jerk her off. 

Cordelia flew fast and closer, but Lucie was already off and falling. One second away, and then there. Cordelia's hand grasped Lucie's wrist, and she'd wished she had rubbed the clamminess one more time before because Lucie immediately started to slip. Cordelia started to lower, and she could see Matthew flying closer, but a bludger flew and slammed into him. People may have been gasping or screaming, but Cordelia couldn't hear as she held Lucie with one hand, and her broom with the other. Another bludger flew closer, and Cordelia eyed the ground as it got closer and closer. Finally, the bludger slammed into Cordelia, but her thighs stayed closed around the broom, and Cordelia brought another hand around Lucie's as her feet touched the ground. 

Cordelia slammed next, and Lucie wrapped her arms around Cordelia, not hearing Cordelia's hiss as tears rounded over both of their cheeks. Professor Herondale, Professor Branwell, and James were running to them. Lucie pulled away and started looking at Cordelia for signs of pain. She pulled up her shirt, and found that where the bludger hit was already bruising black and purple. Cordelia found it hard to breath, and assumed she broke a rib. Professor Herondale pulled Lucie into a giant hug. Professor Branwell was already ordering students to leave as the game was over with a wand to her throat, and James was standing a few feet away.

His eyes were wide, and Cordelia realized her shirt was still lifted, so she rushed to pull it down. "Daisy," He whispered, and it came out somewhere between a wheeze and a croak. "Thank you for saving my sister," he stepped closer and hugged her gently around the shoulders. She hadn't realized she had been crying until he hugged her, and a sob escaped her throat. It was terrifying holding her best friend from possibly death. 

"Professor Blackthorn did it." Cordelia croaked, and Madam Sophie Lightwood ran over, pulling her away to examine her. 

"Why would she want to hurt Lucie?" James asked, and Professor Branwell stepped closer. 

Cordelia shook her head. She thought about the moment her eyes had fell from Lucie to Professor Blackthorn, how Lucie had been right in between their line of sight. How Professor Blackthorn had been staring at Cordelia rather than Lucie, and she suddenly felt guilty for making Lucie a target by chance. "She might have been aiming at me," Cordelia finally said. 

"But you were even higher than me, you probably would have died if you fell from that height," Lucie jumped into the conversation. "No, she must've been aiming at me, to harm me or threaten me or distract everyone while she created some bizarre plan." 

Cordelia began to wipe harshly at her cheeks, and Madam Lightwood informed James to help take Cordelia to the infirmary. She turned to Lucie and said "You'll have to come too, you may have dislocated your wrist." 

"Wait." Cordelia finally stopped all of them, and said "Professor Blackthorn is after two students. Two students that together could stop the war, and apart could destroy the world. I have reason to believe I may be one of the students, and what better way to keep two people apart than to kill one of them?" They were all staring at her bizarrely, glancing between her and James. She hadn't mentioned James so she wasn't sure why they all suddenly knew. Lucie looked like she couldn't decide if she was excited or sick. 

"What do you mean by 'together?'" Lucie finally asked. Cordelia's mouth opened and she glanced at James, and then everyone else to distract from the first person she looked to was James. 

Cordelia's eyes lowered, and she realized as she whispered "I don't know." 

"James?" a voice called out from thirty yards away, and despite knowing who it was, Cordelia turned to find the pale beauty of Grace Blackthorn. "Is Lucie alright?" 

He glanced at the group of them, and walked over to Grace, nodding and consoling her. That's when Cordelia knew. She knew deep down that what she had with James was cheating. Even though he was lying to Grace, and even though her mother may be a death eater, every kiss, word, and look between them was cheating. It wasn't real. She knew what the prophecy meant. People are not born evil. They are made evil, evil is made and this pain could turn Cordelia into someone she didn't recognize. She would never admit it, and she wouldn't act on the feeling but if James told her he was genuinely in love with Grace, and Grace was good. The heartbreak might have sent Cordelia into dark places. It had before, it had sent her to find solace in feeling nothing. The person she had become without her love for James was reckless and hurt Matthew, one of the few people in the world Cordelia would give her life for. 

Guilt rose up in Cordelia's throat, and suddenly the only thing she could think was that she wasn't a good person. She was the other woman to Grace and James, she took advantage of one of her best friends, she couldn't even remember the name of a guy she kissed. Lucie was mad at her before today, and she was angry with herself. 

If James was darkness, she was fire. Destruction. She ruined everything. 

"Cordelia?" Lucie's voice pulled her out of the depths of her mind. Cordelia found she was walking away, and it was painful. Every step felt like someone jumping on her chest with all of their weight. The pain reminded her that she was alive, so she kept stepping. Madam Lightwood had already disappeared to ready the infirmary. After a particularly harsh wince, Professor Herondale said "Cordelia, perhaps you should wait for James to help you back."

"No." Cordelia mumbled. "He's occupied and I need to get to the infirmary." 

Lucie ran up to her, pulling her arm over her shoulder, and holding under Cordelia's arm with her good hand. "Then, I'll help you!" She told her. Cordelia smiled, and though the pain still vibrated though her at every step, Lucie being there did make it bearable. "I do owe you my life," Lucie joked, and Cordelia's smile was faded but there on her face. 

"Or I owe you mine." 

Lucie huffed. "How about after this, we call it even, okay?" 

"Lucie! Daisy!" James was running after them, walking beside them as he waited for Lucie to hand over Cordelia. One glance at Cordelia made Lucie hold tight though. "What's wrong? I'm supposed to help Daisy?" James mumbled. 

"Lucie's got me." Cordelia finally said, avoiding his gaze. Lucie could feel the tension, and it weighed heavier than Cordelia on all of their shoulders. "You should go back to Grace, she needs you." 

James's eyes flickered, and Cordelia stepped wrong, causing her to moan in pain. "Seriously, just let me help you, I can carry you on my back or something-" 

Cordelia stepped away from James when he stepped closer, and Lucie could read devastation on his face. "Grace is your girlfriend, James. Go back to her. She's worried about you." Lucie desperately wanted James to tell her his feelings in that moment but knew he couldn't. So long as he was with Grace, he couldn't be with Cordelia. "This is done, just go." 

"This?" James whispered. 

Lucie hadn't realized until then that his shoulders had been lighter, his step surer, and he had been more conscious. Perhaps even more so then when the bracelet came off, but now it seemed the weight of the world sunk back in. Lucie glanced at Grace, finding her watching them. 

"Yeah." Cordelia finally said. "Maybe after you're done, then come see me but for now this is what has to happen." James closed his eyes, and Lucie tried to look for hidden meanings in her words because what James said next was tight. 

"Yeah okay, ok." 

"Okay." Cordelia turned back to Lucie and they began the trek. Cordelia was thankful Lucie didn't question the tears in her eyes that refused to fall.


	10. Ruin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucie talks to Jesse again, and James confronts Cordelia in a quiet corner of the library

Lucie was determined. At the horror of her near death and Cordelia saving her, she found herself livid. So she was going to find the ghost that lingered near either of the Blackthorns at all times, and she was going to find out why her being able to see him was so important that it would cause others to seek her death. 

It turned out her determinedness was all for nought as the ghost found her. She was in-between classes, and she had been reaching for something in her cloak as she noticed the boy and almost tripped. She'd looked in the hall to see if anyone was paying attention to her as she followed the boy over to a little alcove. He was looking over her as if searching for any source of harm. He knew, and yet he also looked worried. 

"What is so special about you that they would try to kill me?" Lucie whispered, and Jesse finally met her eyes. 

"Can I try something?" Jesse asked, and lifted his hand. Lucie warily nodded before his hand met the bare skin of her cheek. Lucie gasped as she felt a whisper of touch, and then something solid and soft and human and real. She stepped back against the wall of the alcove, looking outside to see if anyone saw her. 

The touch alone felt more intimate than anything she had ever experienced. 

"What is so special about you that you're the only thing that I can touch?" He mimicked her past words. 

"There are a lot of things special about me," She joked but faltered as his eyes glimmered in humor. "Why did they try to kill me?" 

Jesse looked down in disappointment at the words, and said "My mother is here doing what she is for one reason," He never specified but Lucie knew exactly what he meant. What really peaked her interest was the fact that Tatiana Blackthorn was his mother. "She wants me to be alive again." 

Necromancy, a dark dark magic that never truly worked and one only the Dark Lord would play with. Lucie pondered if he tried to bring back this sweet boy, who exactly would return in his body. What cursed life would he live for the cost of living again? 

"Do you? Want to be alive I mean." Jesse smiled at her words and shrugged. 

"It would be nice, I suppose," He teased but sighed. "I wouldn't want it if the price were too large though." 

Lucie nodded, suddenly aware of the losing time before her next class as she said "Why were they trying to kill me then?" 

"Because if you know, you can use me against them or guess their motives or try to sway their minds. If you can see me and hear me, then I could help you. They don't want that obviously." Lucie felt the whisper, and looked down as Jesse's hand wrapped around hers. 

It was a peculiar thing, holding hands with a ghost. Lucie supposed that since this was only the second time she met him it would be a tad inappropriate to be holding hands already. She didn't really care though. She couldn't get the lines of his face out of her head, or the sound of his name out of her ears. 

Still, Lucie was running out of time, so she pulled her hand from his and stepped into the hall facing the boy. "I would never use you to get to them," she promises and ran like wind to her next class. 

~

Cordelia was really behind in her studies. Whether through practice, James or her time trapped in a bed waiting for her bones to get fixed, she was too busy to study for her classes. So one Saturday she chose to do exactly that. Not like she was doing it because everyone was going to hogsmead and she was avoiding James. Not at all. 

Nope, she truly needed to study. So she found the quietest back corner of the library with her textbooks laid out in front of her. She'd been doing pretty well, and she caught up on four assignments including a defense against the dark arts assignment that kicked her in the butt of the history of the use of the Inferi. If she ever had to deal with an Inferi, she would puke afterwards that was for sure. 

It was only around lunch time that she started feel eyes on her back. Her shoulders twitched from it, and she decided she needed to get somewhere more public than this back corner. She stood, closing her books and shoving them into her bag. She refused to look around to warn her stalker that she knew they existed, and so she shrugged the bag onto her shoulder and began to walk around the bookshelf. 

She didn't get very far as she was pushed into the next alcove between the bookcases off, and a scream was beginning to tear through her throat as a hand latched onto her mouth, and she was turned to meet James's startling gold eyes. Cordelia shoved James away from her as she gasped from her fear and placed her bag on the ground. "You can't do that," She whispered, and nearly panicked at the fear that shone easily in her voice. Her eyes focused on his shoes, "I was nearly killed last week, James."

"I couldn't get you to talk to me any other way, Daisy. I tried every other way." Cordelia nodded and sat on the floor. "You never came Sunday," He whispered as he followed her moves. 

She refused to look at him, so she focused on the books in front of her as she said "I thought I made it clear there would be no more Sundays." 

"Oh," James mumbled. 

Finally she met the devastation on his face. He was looking at his lap and Cordelia wanted to scream at the world or herself. "Even if you're pretending James, you're still dating Grace. What we did, it was cheating. We can't-I won't do that." 

James's head fell against the shelf at their backs, and he met her gaze. "I haven't learned anything from Grace, she doesn't say anything that we could use ever. I don't know why I'm pretending with her when all I want to do is be with you." 

A sudden question filled her mind and she couldn't stop herself from asking it "What did you smell in the Amorentia? You refused to tell anyone." 

"You know the distinct smell of the air and sweat and grass during quidditch?" James asked, and Cordelia nodded. It was one smell she'd never forget. "Well that, and cinnamon rolls, and daisies." 

"Why would you hide that?" Cordelia asked.

"All of the smells could be tied back to memories with Grace so I was embarrassed that I still had feelings for her. She was there when I first got on a broom, I looked at her when I ate a cinnamon roll at Hogwarts on the first day of second year, and she always wore a perfume that smelled like daisies." He sighed. "But now that I think about it, you were the first person I saw at my first quidditch game, the first time I really smelled it. You brought me cinnamon rolls when I was sick at your house and everyone was vaccinated unlike my family. Then your nickname was Daisy the whole time."

"Oh," Cordelia spoke. 

"I was hoping I'd find you two together." 

The pair of heads lifted, finding Professor Blackthorn at the end of the isle. Her head twisted, and a distinctly creepy smile was on her lips. 

"Thankfully I didn't catch you two in a precarious position." She knew. She knew she knew she knew the words repeated in Cordelia's head like an alarm. 

"James is dating your daughter, Professor Blackthorn, not me," Cordelia feigned ignorance. 

She stepped in front of them, that grin still on her face as she lowered to a squat. "Oh, I know, and he will keep doing that. Which is why you-Cordelia are a problem, or your feelings are. So you know what you are going to do?" She laughed. "You are going to drink the very potion that took them away, a more potent version that will get rid of them forever."

Cordelia's eyes hardened finally as she replied "And why would I do that?" 

"Because Matthew Fairchild is in a precarious position right now with another charmed student who will kill him if I don't remove the charm before the clock hits 1:30. Which I will only do if I watch you swallow this, and the light fade from your eyes."

"Cordelia," James's voice was rough. 

"And," Tatiana Blackthorn muttered. "You will let me into your minds, and alter your memories to where you never discovered the others feelings." 

"We can't let Matthew die," Cordelia whispered to James, meeting his eyes in slow motion before she took the potion before her and swallowed it in one go. 

James's eyes closed, and he sighed. 

Professor Blackthorn whispered "I am going to ruin you," before muttering oblivate. 

Both of their eyes opened, and Professor Blackthorn was gone along with the memory that she had been there in the first place. In its place was a memory of James confessing his feelings to Cordelia, one that Professor Blackthorn would cause heartbreak in James. 

Because if Cordelia no longer had her feelings for him, then she couldn't reciprocate James's feelings. James would go running back to Grace while seeking comfort, and everything would be back on track. 

Except she didn't account for how Cordelia was without her feelings for James: chasing a high she could never reach, careless with others feelings or her reputation, so if any boy placed themselves in front of her with their heart laid out for them, Cordelia would seek it out in hopes of filling that void inside her. 

She kissed James. Though it incited no romantic feelings in her, it made her feel like she was on fire. She could burn everything off of this feeling alone. James, who felt everything, sighed into her mouth at the feelings and excitement rushing through his veins. Neither of them moved from their spaces beside each other, but James placed a hand on Cordelia's thigh. 

He raised his knees in attempt to hide the view of his hand as it trailed higher and higher by the minute. 

A part of Cordelia reminded her this was wrong, that she had chased away her feelings and that she couldn't take advantage of James, but it was shushed by the greater part of her that wanted him. Wanted his body aligned with hers, his hair between her fingers, his tongue on her-

James's hand fell right where she needed him most, and he lightly ran his finger down her, and it had her gasping into his mouth. 

Cordelia's head turned, and James leaned his forehead on the side of hers as he whispered "Quiet," in a warning tone. Then, he pushed down, and Cordelia jumped a few inches. She wrapped her fingers into the fabric of her robe, and met his gaze again. 

His eyes were on fire. 

Cordelia was sure her eyes were black. 

He rubbed in a figure eight, languidly. Cordelia's hips were canting in his hands direction. 

"You're so beautiful, Daisy," he whispered to her. It was only then Cordelia realized anyone could pass by and she felt herself getting wetter. 

That, was not a kink she knew she had. 

His hand trailed down to the bottom of her skirt despite her frustration, and then it went under. Under everything, and Cordelia kissed James to hide the sound that fought to come out. 

Two fingers slipped down to enter her as her thumb sought to replace the pressure, and Cordelia groaned into James's mouth. 

One minute, and then two, and his hand was going to fast and Cordelia couldn't see anything anymore. She could only hear the words James said as she fell, "I will never love anyone the way I love you." 

A rush of guilt hit Cordelia at the same time as she came, and she swore to herself that would never happen again. That James deserved someone who loved him the way he loved them, and that Cordelia couldn't. Maybe if this had come before she took that second potion a few days ago, but no longer. 

But then James shoved his fingers in his mouth and hummed around them, and Cordelia wanted to shove him on a bed and feel him against her and oh godric-

She reasoned with herself that James didn't actually love her like that, and that this could be what they had for now until James found the one for him. That she was bringing him happiness by doing this, and that she was proving something to that two-faced girl named Grace. 

Neither of them knew the depth, or lackthereof, of each others feelings. Neither of them remembered the prophecy, yet in their own ways, they had found out how to be together. 

So Tatiana Blackthorn got back to work on tearing the pair apart and leading them to destroy the world.


End file.
